1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery box device for use as a vehicle power supply for driving an electric vehicle or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in Japanese patent publication No. 57-4063, one conventional battery box device for use on an electric vehicle has a switch device disposed in a battery circuit in a battery case and having a normally open contact for cutting off the output of electric energy supplied from a battery to an external load such as a motor which drives the electric vehicle. When the battery box device is installed on the electric vehicle, an operable member which is slidable in one direction into other switch device is pressed to slide in the opposite direction by a side wall of the vehicle body, thus closing the contact of the switch device for allowing the output electric energy to be supplied from the battery to the external load.
When the battery box device is dismounted from the electric device, the contact of the switch device is opened to prohibit the output of the electric energy supplied from the battery. Therefore, the battery box device can be assembled, inspected, or serviced while preventing a short circuit, a current leak, or other faults from occurring.
Since the switch device of the conventional battery box device has only an ON/OFF switch for prohibiting the output of the electric energy from the battery, various other circuits including, for example, a circuit breaker for manually cutting off the output of electric energy supplied from the battery, and a controller for controlling the circuit breaker according to control information based on signals from various sensors which detect various conditions of the electric vehicle have to be installed on the electric vehicle and wired in advance. However, the process of installing and wiring those circuits in a small vehicle cabin is quite tedious and time-consuming.
Checking the circuit breaker and the controller for their functions and performance is also tedious and time-consuming because the functions and performance are required to be finally confirmed after the battery has been installed on the Vehicle body.